


calescent

by fnowae



Series: dissonant 'verse [7]
Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, based off something my friend offhandedly mentioned thanks Kell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 12:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11737128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fnowae/pseuds/fnowae
Summary: Patrick has a worrying habit of compulsively keeping warm.





	calescent

**Author's Note:**

> hoooo boy
> 
> have fun
> 
> (Also, holy shit guys, happy 100th fic. I cant believe I've posted 100 of them. Shit.)

Joe doesn't notice for the longest time, but once he does he can't stop noticing. 

Patrick has a worrying habit of compulsively keeping warm. And not in a normal way, like lighting a fire when it's cold out or sleeping under blankets when the night gets chilly - more in an overdone way that makes Joe concerned when he notices it. 

The first time he really notices, it's the middle of summer, ridiculously hot out, and he and Patrick are going for a walk around their neighborhood. It suddenly occurs to Joe that Patrick is seriously overdressed for the weather. He's strolling along in a dark, baggy hoodie and sweatpants that are so long they almost completely obscure his prosthetics. (Which can't be good in itself - Joe is worried Patrick is going to trip over the bottoms of them.)

"Fucking hell, babe, it's ninety degrees out," Joe says, casting Patrick a concerned look. "You could stand to dress a little more comfortably."

"I _am_ comfortable," Patrick rebuts, frowning. 

"You're going to get dehydrated under all that," Joe says, staring Patrick down. Now that he's noticed Patrick's poor clothing choices, he also notices how red his face is, and how heavily he's sweating - he's obviously _not_ comfortable at all. 

"I'm good," Patrick tells him shortly, turning away to stare ahead as they keep walking. 

Still, Joe leads him home as quickly as possible, gets him to drink some water, and makes him at least take the hoodie off, though only after a lot of complaining. 

"It's too hot for that," Joe says worriedly as Patrick reluctantly pulls the hoodie over his head, revealing a fucking sweater under it, which concerns Joe even more. 

"I'm fine," Patrick insists. 

Joe doesn't believe that. 

///

The next time he notices is when he's been out shopping, and he gets home to find that the internal heating system has been turned way up. 

Joe immediately peels his jacket off, surprised at the ridiculous heat. It's pretty cool outside today - it's obvious this temperature isn't natural. 

He checks the temp setting on the hallway wall monitor, and blanches when he sees it reads 85. He hurriedly turns it back down to 65, which seems like a much more reasonable temperature to him. 

"Hey! Turn that back!"

Joe turns around towards the bedroom door behind him, seeing Patrick resting on the bed with a book. Judging by the fact his prosthetics are off and against the wall, he's been relaxing there for a while. 

"No! That was too fucking hot!" Joe says, shaking his head. "Why'd you'd turn it up like that?"

"It was comfortable," Patrick responds. 

Joe really doesn't think that's true, but he doesn't say so. He just turns the temp down a couple degrees more, stubbornly ignoring his boyfriend's complaints. 

///

Joe doesn't really bring it up until one night when it all becomes too much for him to keep watching without trying to do something. 

He's watched Patrick nearly burn himself up so many times that he doesn't think he can do it any longer. And when he wakes up in the middle of a hot night - it's in the upper eighties even though it's dark out - to find Patrick cocooned in a thick blanket that he'd probably gotten out himself, seeing as Joe had purposefully removed the blankets from the bed before going to sleep for _this exact reason_ , he reaches his limit. 

"Patrick." He pokes Patrick's shoulder, and Patrick blearily blinks his eyes open, rolling over and murmuring something unintelligible. 

"Patrick," Joe repeats, and Patrick seems to wake up all the way this time. 

"Hm?" he asks, yawning. 

"Get out of the blanket," Joe says, and Patrick immediately makes a noise of frustration. 

"What? No. This is comfortable," he responds, wrinkling his nose as if the very concept disgusts him. 

"No, it isn't," Joe reprimands, crossing his arms. "It's super hot out and you're obviously burning up under that. I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine," Patrick assures him, shaking his head. 

"No, I think you really aren't," Joe replies, concern wracking his voice. "It's like you have this weird obsession with overheating yourself, and I really don't get-" 

But then he stops, because now that he says it aloud like that, he really _does_ get why. 

"Patrick," he says sternly. Patrick shifts uncomfortably in his blanket cocoon, eyes shifting to look away from Joe. 

"I just don't want to be cold," he says quietly, his discomfort obvious - confirming exactly what Joe had expected. 

Joe sighs loudly. "I get that, Patrick, I get it. But the solution to that isn't overheating yourself to the point where it's unhealthy. It's eighty-six degrees out, you don't need a thick blanket on top of that. You won't be cold without it. I promise."

"I mean, I - I know that," Patrick mumbles awkwardly, then shakes his head. "But at the same time, I don't."

Joe stares sadly at his boyfriend, curled up so fragilely in the thick, warm blanket. He sighs and reaches across the bed, unwrapping the blanket even as Patrick protests against it. He pulls Patrick free from the fabric, taking him into his arms instead. 

"Here, see? You're still warm enough, right?" Joe asks, holding Patrick as close as possible and forcing his nervous boyfriend to look him straight in the eyes. 

Patrick swallows hard. "I...yeah, but-"

"No buts," Joe cuts him off. "I get it if you're actually cold. If you're legitimately in need of heat, tell me. I know it freaks you out. But this is different. You aren't cold. You don't need to get too hot for your own safety. One of these days you're gonna get heat stroke or something and I don't know what I'm going to do then. I know you think you need to the extra heat, but now that you're out of the blanket, you're still warm enough, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Patrick admits softly, breaking eye contact.

"Good." Joe nods and holds Patrick tighter against him. "I want you to be comfortable, and I want you to feel safe, but overheating yourself like that...that's not comfortable _or_ safe. I know it's hard, but don't overdo it...alright?"

"Alright," Patrick murmurs, eyes falling shamefully to the bedsheets. 

"Don't feel bad, babe," Joe rushes out, moving his hands up to hold Patrick's face in his hands. "I understand how hard this is for you, but you gotta try to put a limit on it, okay?"

"Okay," Patrick answers shakily. "I'll try."

And that's all Joe needs to hear.

**Author's Note:**

> as always PLEASE send dissonant 'verse prompts to my Tumblr @vicesandvelociraptors I'm living for this 'verse


End file.
